The UC Davis Bookstore presents
Joshua E. S. Phillips
In a talk about his book
None of Us Were Like This Before
American Soldiers and Torture (Verso Books, ISBN 9781844675999)
March 2, Wednesday, Noon to 1:00pm
The Bookstore Lounge, Memorial Union, UC Davis campus
Free and open to the general public.
The presentation will be followed by a Q&A period and a book signing.
Sergeant Adam Gray made it home from a year’s tour in Iraq only to die in
his barracks. For more than three years, reporter Joshua Phillips—with the
support of Adam’s mother and the cooperation of his Army buddies—
investigated Adam’s death. What Phillips uncovered was a story of
American veterans psychologically scarred by the abuse they had meted out
to Iraqi prisoners.
How did US forces turn to torture? Phillips’s narrative recounts the journey
of a tank battalion— trained for conventional combat—as its focus switches
to guerrilla war and prisoner detention. It tells of how a group of ordinary
soldiers, ill-trained for the responsibilities foisted upon them, descended into
the degradations of abuse. The location is far from CIA prisons and
Guantánamo, but the story captures the use and nature of detainee abuse in
the U.S. armed forces that was once widespread.
Based on firsthand reporting from Jordan, Syria and Afghanistan, as well as
interviews with soldiers, their families and friends, military officials, and the
victims of torture, None of Us Were Like This Before reveals how soldiers,
senior officials, and the US public came to believe that torture was both
effective and necessary. The book illustrates that the damaging legacy of
torture is not only borne by the detainees, but also by American soldiers and
the country to which they’ve returned.
Read reviews and interviews at: http://noneofuswerelikethisbefore.com/
Joshua E. S. Phillips has reported from Asia and the Middle East. His work has appeared in the Washington Post, Newsweek, Salon, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Atlanta Journal–Constitution, among other publications. His radio features have been broadcast on NPR and the BBC. In 2009, Phillips received the Alfred I. duPont-­‐
Columbia University Award and the Newspaper Guild’s Heywood Broun Award of Substantial Distinction for his American Radio Works documentary What Killed Sergeant Gray. To schedule an interview with the author, please contact Joshua Phillips directly via email at contact@noneofuswerelikethisbefore.com For a review copy of the book, please contact Julie McCarroll, 718.246.8160 or julie@versobooks.com For more information about this event, please contact:
Paul Takushi Tradebooks
UC Davis Bookstore
PH 530/752-­‐9072
pmtakushi@ucdavis.edu